Light-O-Rama version 5.0.14 released as an Open Beta

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Light O Rama is proud to announce the next release of Showtime S5 software 5.0.14 Beta

Important Information about Beta Releases

Please note that this is a beta release, not an official production release. For important information about beta releases, including what it means, who should participate, and how to participate, please seethis post.

How To Check If Your License Covers This Version

Please note that your license may or may not cover this version. Anyone with an active S4 license can download and run the S5 Beta. You may be warned that the software will expire in February, however you can re-register and that will go away.

For a list of changes in this version from the previous version, please check therelease notesin theOpen BetaForums.

As always, thanks to all of those who choose to help us out as beta testers.

Before deciding to download and install the beta, please take some time to read this post for some important information:

What is meant by "beta" and "open beta"

An entirely new "Pro" license level (above Advanced)

How licensing will be handled during the beta period

Information about the help files

How to download the installer can be found at the end of this post, but please take the time to read this information before deciding to download and install it

What is beta software?Beta software is code that has been tested by the programmers who have written it and has received some internal testing by other members of the company. The software is stable enough to be tested by a rather large group, but it is not software that is ready for general released.

Why an open beta?We have received many requests from people asking to join the beta testing group. In the past, we have kept that group closed, and have always had a backlog of people wanting to take part. To make management of the beta group simpler, we are going to open the beta to everyone.

Who should use beta software?Beta testing is not for everyone. By nature, beta software will have more problems in it than generally released software. Testing beta software allows a user to find out if an enhancement does what they need, and if not, provide suggestions on how to fix or improve the software. Do NOT use the beta software if you are not ready to uncover bugs/problems with it. People who volunteer to test beta software must report problems, but please do not complain that there are problems - problems are expected! When testing beta software, please make sure to save often so that if something crashes, you'll minimize your loss.

How can I report issues, make suggestions, or ask questions about the beta?There is a set of forums for the open beta, where you can report bugs or give other feedback,here. Please do not open help desk tickets for S5 issues, instead post a message in one of those 2 forums.

The new "Pro" license level

At this time, the differences between Advanced and Pro are that the Pro license level enables the use of Motion Effects. These new features are intended to improve the experience of using very large numbers of circuits (though they can be used with small numbers of circuits too).

During the beta period, certain users' licenses will act as if they were Pro level licenses. Please see the next section of this post, "Does my license cover this release?", for details.

Does my license cover this release?

Depending upon when you purchased, renewed, or upgraded your license, it may or may not cover version 5.0. However, during the beta period (which will last through February of 2018), some licenses that do not really cover version 5.0 will act as if they do cover it: If your license is valid for version 4 or higher, then during the beta period it will act as if it covers version 5.0.

Also, during the beta period, Advanced licenses will act as if they are Pro licenses.

In this way, even if you don't have a license that really covers the new version or the new Pro license level, you can try them out during the beta period without committing to purchase them.

After the beta period is over, if your license does not really cover version 5.0, it will stop acting as if it does. Similarly, if you have an Advanced license, it will stop letting you use Pro level features. At that time, you could either:

Uninstall version 5.0 and reinstall version 4.3.24 (or an earlier version).

Please note that if at the end of the beta period you decide not to upgrade or renew, not everything that you created during the beta period will necessarily be usable afterwards. Specifically:

Any "intensity files" that you create during the beta period (such as by the Pixel Editor or SuperStar) will not be usable afterwards unless you upgrade.

Any motion effects/Sequencer files created in S5 can not be used in the PIxel Editor of S4.

Also, please be warned that although the above list is intended to be complete, it is possible that there are other incompatibilities that were overlooked here and not listed. It is always wise in any case to back up any of your data files, even those that you have no reason to believe will be affected by the upgrade (such as your sequence files).

You can check whether or not your license covers version 5.0 by using theSoftware License Retrieval page. Please note that if your license covers 4.0 (or higher) but not 5.0, the Software License Retrieval page willnotmention to you the fact that your license will temporarily work for 5.0 during the beta period.

Special information about the help filesIn this initial beta release, the help files are not completely updated. We are working on updating our help files.

What's new in this versionS5 was announced at the 2017 Christmas Expo. We have several presentation files available that are full of information on what is new in S5. "PowerPoint Presentations / ShowTime 5". http://www1.lightorama.com/tutorials/

How do I get this new version?

The Important Announcements forum will have the latest beta release. Look for the most recent post (usually located at the top of the forum) titled "Light O Rama version 5.0.XX released as an open beta"